I don't know just exactly when out of the four times I was not at home but in the hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock to have my two knees totally replaced (twice), when someone came on to my property and helped themselves to six lengths of 20-foot galvanized 1 1/2-inch steel water pipe.

Each length of pipe is about 80 pounds and must have taken a great deal of effort to pick up, move, and load on and tie down to be able to transport away to some unknown place.

It took me a lot more effort to get that pipe for myself. I had set it aside for some future project which would need the pipe. To replace this pipe would cost me $1,200.

Life for me these past three years has been hard. Due to damage and deterioration of my knees, I have had to have repeated surgeries ending in total knee replacements of both knees. In addition, I have had to deal with the loss of my horse in February 2005 and then the loss of my mother a year later in March.

For a very long time I have been barely able to do anything for myself due to the fact that it was taking me a long time to recover from each of the surgeries.

Sunday, December 2, while I was watching my older brother, Fred Viens, do excavation work around the property, I discovered that the pipe was missing from where it had been kept.

I would greatly like to have my pipe back and in the same condition as it was when taken. I don't know if you realized that you were taking the pipe from someone who is disabled.

I am not going to hate you for it. I can live without the borrowed pipe whoever you are. Merry Christmas.